LUCKNOW: In a sensational broad daylight double murder, a Samajwadi Party leader and his son were shot dead in village Shamshoi under Bahjoi police station area of Sambhal district, around 300 km from state capital Lucknow, in western UP on Tuesday morning.
The SP leader Chhote Lal Diwakar was holding the post of the village head. As per police sources, Diwakar and his son were killed over a dispute triggered over a road construction project under MGNREGAscheme in the area.
Diwakar, accompanied by his son Sunil, had gone to inspect the construction work outside the village when the incident occurred. Diwakar was a prominent SP face in the district. He was fielded to contest the 2017 Assembly election from Chandausi assembly segment on SP ticket but had to withdraw his candidature as the then SP ally Congress had fielded its candidate on the seat.
Sources said a few villagers, who had enmity with Diwakar, could be behind the incident. The attackers assaulted Diwakar on the site of road construction killing him and his son on the spot.
A large number of SP workers reached the village soon after the news of the double murder spread.
The police reached the spot soon after the incident and sent the bodies for autopsy. The killers are from the same village, circle inspector Ashok Kumar said, adding that the manhunt to nab them was on.
The sources said that after killing Diwakars, the assassins shot at Chhote Lal’s cousin Mukesh and his son Sumit but missed the targets. The duo had rushed to the incident on getting the information of the clash between Chhote Lal and the assassins.
The sources added that the culprits had come on two bikes and escaped in a car after committing the crime. The car was parked a few yards away from the site.
The locals said the armed assassins picked up an unprovoked fight with Diwakars. They first targeted Sunil and then killed Chhote Lal from a distance of around five feet.